The key to successful investing is to look for companies that are growing their revenue, profits, and dividends.

This task is admittedly the easy part.

The tough part is to hold on to these businesses over the long term so that your money can compound.

We shine the spotlight on four Singapore stocks that not only announced better profits but also upped their dividends at the same time.

Q&M Dental

Q&M Dental is a private dental healthcare group that owns 106 dental outlets in Singapore.

The group is staffed by 270 experienced dentists along with 350 support staff and sees an average of 40,000 patients per month.

Q&M Dental also owns 38 dental clinics and a dental supplies and equipment distribution company in Malaysia.

For 2024, total revenue dipped by 1% year on year because of the cessation of its diagnostics business.

However, core net profit increased by 28% year on year to S$17.3 million.

The business also generated a positive free cash flow of S$32.1 million, 16.8% higher than the S$27.5 million churned out a year ago.

The dental chain declared a final dividend of S$0.007, higher than the previous year’s S$0.0053.

For 2024, the total dividend amounted to S$0.011, a 59% year-on-year increase from the S$0.0069 paid out in 2023.

The group has also announced a share buyback of 50 million shares.

Two months ago in January 2025, Q&M Dental’s associated company EM2AI secured regulatory approvals for its dental artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in four markets – Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Management intends to expand its network of clinics in Singapore and also in Malaysia and is targeting the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone while evaluating partnerships and organic expansion opportunities.

First Resources

First Resources is a leading palm oil producer managing over 200,000 hectares of oil palm plantations across the Riau, East Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia.

The group’s core business includes cultivating oil palm, harvesting the fruit, and milling them into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel.

First Resources reported a strong set of earnings for 2024 with sales rising nearly 6% year on year to US$1 billion.

Gross profit improved by 22.8% year on year to US$445.7 million and underlying net profit climbed 56.1% year on year to US$228.8 million.

The business also generated a free cash flow of US$63.2 million.

A final dividend of S$0.063 was proposed, a sharp increase from the S$0.037 paid out last year.

2024’s total dividend amounts to S$0.098, a step up from 2023’s S$0.062.

2024 saw one million tonnes of CPO harvested, 5.5% higher than 2023’s 951,425 tonnes.

CEO Ciliandra Fangiono believes that Indonesia’s expansion of its biofuels mandate is expected to tighten global palm oil supplies and support CPO prices.

Near the end of last year, the group commenced the replanting process for plantation assets acquired in December 2023 and these will progressively contribute to First Resources’ financial performance in the future.

ChinaSunsine

China Sunsine Chemical, or CSC, is a specialty chemical producer selling rubber accelerators, insoluble sulphur, anti-oxidants and other vulcanising agents.

The group is also the largest rubber accelerator in the world and the biggest insoluble sulphur producer in China.

For 2024, revenue inched up 1% year on year to RMB 3.5 billion as sales volume increased by 3% year on year to 214,094 tonnes.

Gross margin expanded by 1.3 percentage points to 24.2% and the CSC’s gross profit increased by 6% year on year to RMB 850 million.

Net profit climbed 14% year on year to RMB 423.9 million.

The chemicals company also generated a healthy positive free cash flow of RMB 463.3 million, almost 10% higher than the RMB 422.1 million churned out in the prior year.

A final dividend of S$0.02 and a special dividend of S$0.01 was declared for 2024.

This was higher than the S$0.015 final dividend and a special dividend of S$0.01 paid out for 2023.

CSC gave an update on its expansion projects.

Phase 2 of its 30,000-tonne per annum insoluble sulphur project is expected to undergo a trial run in the first half of 2025 after the installation of machinery was completed.

MBT is an intermediate product used in the production of rubber accelerators and CSC has completed Phase 1 of a 20,000-tonne per annum continuous production of high-quality MBT project.

Nordic

Nordic is a global engineering solutions provider that provides services such as vessel maintenance, precision engineering, scaffolding and insulation, and others.

The group has a production facility in Suzhou, China, and also has operations in Malaysia.

Nordic reported a mixed result for 2024.

Revenue dipped by 1% year on year to S$158.4 million but gross profit edged up 1% year on year to S$36.7 million.

Net profit increased by 10% year on year to S$17.5 million.

Nordic’s free cash flow soared 60.5% year on year to S$16.3 million.

A final dividend of S$0.008987 was proposed, higher than the S$0.00588 paid out for 2023.

Nordic’s order book stood at S$201.6 million as of 31 December 2024.

The group is optimistic about the long-term growth in key industries such as the marine vessel market and semiconductor industries which are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% and 14.9%, respectively, by 2032.